New Rune for a New Age
by Paladin James
Summary: My very first story! After the devastation of the Reaver Wars, an Earth Warden makes what could be a very impotant discovery: a new transferrable endowment!
1. Mysterious Rune

The wars between the kingdoms of men and the subterranean reavers was finally at an end. The Earth King, Gaborn val Orden, disappeared into the wilderness of the earth which he served. The Dark One was banished from this shadow of a world forever, never again to reclaim it for it's own purpose. Young Averan, now a talented and powerful Earth Warden, is seeing to the repopulating of the last hatch of reaver young. Raj Ahten, the former ruler of all the kingdoms of Indhopal and the bane of the Earth King, has perished, his life extinguished just as the fire that lived in his heart. Peace has been brought back to the world, from the deserts of Kartish to the islands of Internook, and throughout all three Kingdoms. The few surviving people who followed their Earth King had won through to see another day. Everything was set right once again.

Or so it seemed…

The wizard hurriedly searched through the various manuals and texts scattered on top of the long, oak table. His research was sprawled everywhere: books on the Kartish blood metal mines sat next to maps of the Underworld; lists of lords and their endowments covered journals of battle history written by generals of old. The wizard himself was an old man, with over seventy years to his credit. His life was dedicated solely to the collection of knowledge and the discovery of the power that knowledge held.

This man was a wizard of the earth, an Earth Warden. He was chosen by the Earth to serve the people who inhabited it's surface. He was responsible for the well being of the few who survived the war against the Dark One. Now, he had found something that just might lead to the prosperity of good.

At one end of the table lay the object of the wizard's curiosity: a forcible, the source of all Runelord's powers. With these potent devices, one could acquire brawn, grace, metabolism, anything that one desired. All it would take is a dedicate to give the endowment and a priest who could perform the endowing ritual. For every trait that could be transferred, a particular rune must be carved on the end of the forcible. This allowed the magic of the blood metal to run it's course, and the connection between dedicate and receiver to take place.

This particular forcible had a rune carved on the end that was unlike any the wizard had ever seen. He finally found the tablet showing all the known rune shapes, and looked it over, trying to find a match. Despite his efforts, he could not identify the mysterious rune. He picked the forcible back up, looking it over.

"Curious..…what good are you if I don't know what you do?"

The forcible seemed normal enough: about half an arm's length, usual structure…, writing on the handle? The wizard now searched one of the many small pouched hanging from his leather belt. He pulled out a small lens, and placed it over one of his eyes. Taking an even closer look, he could make out tiny etchings on the handle of the forcible. He recognized the writing as Inkarran, a bit messy, but still readable.

The wizard recalled the years of study of the Inkarran language, and slowly the words began to come together. "This brand…one of a kind…is special purpose…resurrection?" He gasped with wonder. A rune to bring people back from the dead? The possibilities, good and bad, flooded into the wizard's head. This was quite possibly the most powerful discovery in the world, much less the wizard's career.

Immediately, he wrapped the forcible in a cloth, and tucked it away in one of his many chests. He spent a few minutes neatening up his table, trying to compose himself. Once his breathing slowed back down and he stopped his sweating, he hurried out the door of his chamber and down the stairs of the castle to request an immediate counsel with his lord, Sir Garvis.


	2. Greedy Lord

If there was one thing that Lord Garvis liked to have, it was power. True, he only held sway over one province of South Crowthen, but for now it was enough. After his father had mysteriously died on a hunting trip that Garvis himself also took a part in, he was crowned the new Lord. Many of the people he ruled over doubted his innocence. It made little difference to Garvis now; he was now rid of his weak-willed father, and he himself was a rune lord to boot. He had merely to wait for an opportunity to further advance his power in the hierarchy of Rofehaven, and soon he would be able to challenge the Lord of South Crowthen himself! Now, if only he could muster an army large enough-

"Sir Garvis?" One of the guards standing outside the door had the audacity to enter Lord Andros Garvis' quarter's without knocking.

"That is NOT how you address your ruler!"

"I'm sorry…my lord."

"Well, why do you intrude?" Even though the new lord had only one endowment of Voice to his name, it still allowed his shouting to reverberate through the room and out into the hallway with extra intensity and clarity.

"Well, my lord, the wizard Emus requests an audience with you and the Chancellor."

The young lord gave a sneer at the mention of the wizard's name. Of all the blasted people that Andros had to deal with, he was the worst. Emus and his father had been friends for many years, and he shared the same weak willed, peaceful attitude that Andros loathed. He was also the most skeptical about the death of the previous Garvis, and had been the most inquisitive with the current Lord Garvis. If anyone knew what had really happened to Andros' father, it would be that blasted wizard. In his head, the new lord made a mental note to take the wizard's life as soon as possible.

The guard had noticed his new lord turn his back at the response given him, muttering and fuming quietly to himself. Silently the guard wished that, somehow, the true Lord Garvis had never died, to be replaced by this selfish, greedy son. Of course, he was a runelord, and no one would question his authority, much less challenge his place as a ruler. Many of the subjects had the courage to fight him, but none of them had the powers of being rune lords themselves, and to attempt to fight Lord Andros Garvis in combat would mean certain death. So the peasants and merchants decided, for now, to wait out the lord's rule. Silently, they all hoped that something like what happened to the lord's father would happen to him also.

The guard spoke up again, "Sir?"

"WHAT NOW?" Echoes could be heard in the seconds of silence that followed.

Opening his eyes, the now terrified guard asked, "Will you meet with Emus?"

"Tell him to meet me in the throne room soon."

"Yes, my lord." The guard turned and walked out the door of Lord Garvis' chambers. Hopefully, the soldier though, whatever the wizard had to say to the new lord was bad news.

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In case anyone's wondering, I WILL be writing more of this story. For now, I'm hoping to get some input, to see if the story's any good so far.


	3. action, not words

Slowly, silently, the wizard reached the throne room of Lord Garvis. He approached the guard, asking "Is he ready to see me?"

Shouting from the other end of the dimly-lit room, an answer boomed, "Just get in here!"

"As you wish, my lord." Emus the Earth Warden was forgetful at times that his ruler was a rune lord. Although he recalled a time when this brash man's father was ruler, and the calm and friendly tone that he possessed. Now it seemed to Emus that he would never be able to serve someone so kind and humble again. He entered the room, carrying a few scrolls for Lord Garvis' enquiry, in case he asked. A table was set before the throne, so Emus could place his belongings to show to the lord.

Again with a tone of anger and impatience, Lord Garvis shouted, "Well, what do you have to show me, old man?" Lord Andros Garvis did NOT like to wait around for meaningless discussions and debates. He preferred action, the times of emotion without forethought. Perhaps that was how getting rid of his father seemed so easy.

"Lord Garvis, I have found something of importance which you should know about." Emus hated the fact that he was about to divulge his findings to this man. But, sadly, it seemed to be the only option. To go to any of the other minor lords about his information would seem to Garvis as treason, and to go to the true ruler of South Crowthen was simply to far a journey. The warden was profoundly afraid of letting the forcible fall into the wrong hands, and to give it to Garvis was the lesser of two evils. _Besides, _he reassured himself, _no one, not even I, knows how the thing woks._

"That I have already heard, it is useless information! What is the blasted thing, anyways?"

"I have found a unique forcible, one that I have never seen before."

At the word forcible, Garvis completely changed his temperament. He went from the verge of ranting to one of eerie calm. His eyes widened, and he grew quiet. He knew that this could mean more power. He could not afford to let an opportunity for more power slip by. "Continue, wizard."

"Well, when I was looking over the rune, I noticed that it didn't match any of the shapes that the priests use in the transfer of endowments. I looked over every one in detail, brawn, grace, sight, wit, smell, all of them."

"Continue…"

"Well, at first I was stumped. Then I found that there was some ancient Inkarran script carved into the handle. I still can't translate the entire thing, some of the words themselves haven't been used for ages."

Garvis didn't like being held in suspense, either. He came back to his senses, shouting "And? THAT'S IT?"

"N-no sir. From what I managed to pick out of the writing, I believe that this rune is used to create some sort of unique bond, different from the others. I believe that the rune is used for regeneration"

Garvis took a second to review what he had just heard. _Regeneration? That's impossible…isn't it?_ He stared Emus straight in the eyes and said, "I must be granted this endowment."

"But my lord, I don't know enough about how the rune works. There's no telling what will happen when the ritual-"

"I don't care what you know! If this rune does give the receiver the ability to regenerate, then I must have this new endowment transferred to me!"

"But my lord-"

"I DON'T CARE! Just have a priest sent here to perform the ritual, and I will find someone for a Dedicate!"

"A-as you wish, Lord Garvis." The wizard scrambled to pick up his writings, and hurried out of the dark throne room, back to his quarters.

As he saw the wizard take leave, Lord Andros Garvis felt content with himself. Unlike his father, who was too considerate to his subjects, he ruled with an iron fist. Only by using force could things actually get done. The lord looked up at the ceiling of the throne room, watching the shadows cast by the lit torches sway and flicker. He closed his eyes and imagined of the new power he would gain, and his future conquest of the entire South Crowthen territory.


End file.
